=^ 

ADDEESS 

DELIVERED   AT   THE   EXAMINATION   OF   THE    STUDENTS   OF 

OF 

FRANKLIN  COUNTS,  N.  C. 

Ju?ie  12,  1857.    . 

• 

BY 

HENRY    G.    WILI^IAMS,    ESQ., 

Of  Nash  Countt,  N.  C, 

. 

'          -:^^L 

Hi:' 

RALEIGH: 
HOLDEN  &  WILSON,  PRINTERS  TO  THE  STATE. 

^                                                        1857. 



ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  AT   THE   EXAMINATION  OP  THE  STUDENTS   OF 


hmm  Mikm  mmmt 


OP 


fl^^olili^  6oiiot(j,  ^oHt)-6^^olir)^, 


June  12,  1857. 


BY 


HENRY   G.  WILLIAMS,   ESQ., 

OF  NASH  COUNTY. 


RALEIGH: 

HOLDEN  &  WILSON,  "STANDARD"  OFFICE. 

1857. 


( 


Digittzed  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


\ 


http://archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOwill_0 


Belford  Academy,  June  13,  1857. 
Dear  Sir  : 

"We  have  been  appointed  a  committee  by  our  fellow-students,  to  return  you  their 
sincere  thanks  for  the  interesting  and  instructive  Address  delivered  before  them  on 
yesterday,  and  to  request  a  copy  of  the  same  for  publication.  With  an  earnest  hope 
that  you  will  comply  with  that  request,  we  are  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servants, 

0.  H.  HARRIS,  1 

RICKS  M.  PEARCE,      | 

J.  A.  BAKER,  \  Committee. 

A.  E.  UPCHURCH,        | 

JNO.  M.  STALLINGS,  J 


H.  G.  Williams,  Esq. 


HiLLiARDSTON,  Nash  Co.,  N.  C,  June  16,  1857. 
Gentlemen  ; 

I  herewith  hand  you,  as  requested,  a  copy  of  the  Address  delivered  at  the  close 
of  your  examination,  on  the  12th  inst.  I  desire  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  the 
siudents  of  Belford  academy  for  their  very  kind  notice  of  a  production,  which  I  am 
fully  aware,  contains  many  imperfections. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  G.  WILLIAMS. 
To  Messrs.  0.  H.  Harris  and  others,  Committee. 


'■{ 


ADDRESS. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

In  complying  with  an  invitation  to  deliver  an  address  on 
this  occasion,  with  which  I  have  been  honored  by  the  stu- 
dent's of  this  academy,  I  am  not  insensible  of  the  fact  that 
a  high  and  responsible  duty  has  been  assumed,  and  sincerely 
regret  that  they  have  not  selected  some  one  more  competent 
to  advise  and  instruct  them,  and  more  able  to  contribute  to 
the  entertainment  of  others  who  have  left  their  daily  avoca- 
tions to  be  present  and  participate  on  this  festive  occasion. 
I  trust,  however,  that  the  same  kind  spirit  which  animated 
my  young  friends  in  imposing  upon  me  this  responsibility, 
will,  in  my  humble  effort  to  meet  it,  throw  the  mantle  ©f 
charity  around  the  many  faults  and  short-comings  which  may 
appear. 

It  should  afford  us  no  small  degree  of  gratification  to  wit- 
ness the  lively  interest  generally  manifested  in  these  public 
examinations.  They  are  annual  re-unions  by  no  means  un- 
important, or  unproductive  of  good.  They  are  calculated  to 
arouse  a  generous  rivalry  and  a  laudable  ambition  among  the 
students,  and  to  enkindle  m  the  minds  of  the  community  a 
deep  interest  for  the  prosperity,  not  only  of  their  own  schools, 
but  of  the  cause  of  education  generally.  It  is  in  behalf  of 
that  cause,  especially  in  ^N'orth-Carolina,  that  I  shall  appeal 
to  you  to-day,  the  short  time  during  w^hich  I  propose  to  oc- 
cupy 3^our  attention.  It  is  an  interesting  theme — one  in 
which  we  should  all  feel  particularly  interested  ;  for  upon  the 
virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people  of  this  country  depends 
the  preservation  of  those  free  and  happy  institutions  which 
are  the  admiration  of  the  world,  and  which  it  should  be  the 
highest  aim  and  proudest  ambition  of  every  American  pa- 
triot to  perpetuate — not  for  the  good  of  ourselves  alone,  but 


of  those  who  are  to  come  after  us.  We,  of  the  present  gen= 
eration,  are  but  the  appointed  trustees  to  preserve  and  pro- 
tect those  institutions,  and  transmit  them  unimpaired  to  our 
posterity.  It  is  a  high  and  holy  trust  imposed  upon  us,  and 
we  should  guard,  with  anxious  solicitude  and  becoming  vig- 
ilance, the  invaluable  treasure  which  has  been  deposited 
with  us. 

"  The  greatest  gloiy  of  a  free-born  people, 

Is  to  transmit  that  freedom  to  their  children." 

The  progress  which  education  has  made  in  ISTorth-Carolina, 
for  a  few  years  past,  is,  too,  a  source  of  gratification.  The 
schools  and  academies  springing  up  in  every  neighborhood 
are  evidences  of  this  progress.  That  its  course  may  be  on- 
ward and  upward  should  be  the  honest  and  heartfelt  desire  of 
every  North-Carolinian.  May  it  continue  to  spread  until  it 
shall  reach  every  portion  of  our  beloved  State — shedding  its 
benign  influence  everywhere,  and  irradiating  in  its  bright 
track  the  gloomy  paths  of  ignorance.  This  alone  will  develop 
the  hidden  resources  of  North-Carolina,  and  cause  her  wil- 
derness to  blossom  as  the  rose;  bring  to  light  the  genius 
which  slumbers  in  the  minds  of  her  sons  and  daughters ;  ele- 
vate her  to  that  proud  position  among  her  sisters,  to  which 
she  is  entitled,  and,  by  disseminating  intelligence  among  her 
people,  increase  their  prosperity  and  happiness.  Education 
should  not  be  weighed  in  the  balance  with  the  earthly  treas- 
ures sought  after  by  man.  It  is  of  a  different  character — of 
a  higher  and  nobler  quality.  It  is  the  richest  legacy  you  can 
bequeath  your  children  ;  for,  amid  all  the  changes  and  vicis- 
situdes of  life,  it  will  cling  to  them.  It  is  a  legacy  which  they 
cannot  lose  ;  one  like  true  wisdom,  which  "  moth  and  rust  can- 
not corrupt,  nor  thieves  break  through  and  steal."  In  com- 
parison with  it,  gold  is  but  dross,  and  silver  but  leaden  ore. 
The  pleasure  they  produce  is  sordid  and  visionary.  They 
never  impart  true  and  genuine  happiness — never  satisfy  the 
mind. 

"  As  some  lone  miser  visiting  bis  store, 
Bends  at  his  treasure,  counts,  re-counts  it  o'er, 
Hoards  after  hoards  his  rising  raptures  fill, 
Yet  still  he  sighs,  for  hoards  are  wanting  still." 


But  the  benefits  conferred  by  education  are  real  and  sub- 
stantial ;  nor  are  they  confined,  but,  free  as  the  mountain  air 
to  all,  they  delight  to  strew  their  flowers  along  the  pathway 
of  life,  to  cheer  and  gladden  the  hearts  of  men.  Man,  being 
the  only  animal  possessing  the  intellectual  faculty  to  receive 
an  education,  would  be  abusing  the  high  prerogative  with 
which  he  has  been  blessed,  were  he  to  neglect  its  cultivation. 
He  was  made  to  be  useful  and  happy,  and  it  is  his  duty  to 
improve  the  talents  which  have  been  given  to  him  in  order 
to  fulfil  his  destiny.  Other  animals  possess  no  such  faculty 
of  the  mind.  They  make  no  progress,  but  are  stationary. 
What  is  the  history  of  one  of  them  to-day  is  the  history  of 
the  same  creature  from  time  immemorial.  But  the  history 
of  man,  in  his  mental  capacity,  presents  many  phases,  as  he 
emerges  from  the  low  condition  of  barbarity,  and  approaches 
to  civihzation,  when  education  carries  him  still  higher  and 
higher,  expanding  his  intellect  and  genius  at  each  successive 
stride.  Who  has  failed  to  observe  and  to  admire  the  appa- 
ren  t  generosity  and  disinterestedness  of  genius  ?  It  is,  lite- 
rally speaking,  no  respecter  of  persons.  Its  refulgence,  like 
the  splendid  rays  of  the  sun,  is  confined  to  no  particular  class 
or  locality.  It  gathers  pearls  and  jewels  of  priceless  value 
from  no  selfish  motive,  but  lavishes  them  freely  upon  all,  and 
in  its  triumphant  march  admonishes  us  "  what  shadows  we 
are,  and  what  shadows  we  pursue." 

How  much  of  real  enjoyment  is  forever  lost  to  those,  whose 
naturally  bright  intellects  are  obscured  and  enveloped  in  the 
clouds  of  mental  darkness,  which  might  have  been  dissipated 
by  the  sun  of  education.  They  live  out  their  lives  here  in 
utter  ignorance,  not  only  of  their  history,  but  of  their  destiny. 
They  pass  to  their  graves  and  are  soon  forgotten — leaving  no 
foot-prints  on  the  sands  of  time  to  mark  a  distinguished  and 
useful  career ! 

On  the  other  hand,  contemplate  for  a  moment  the  inex- 
haustible pleasures  and  pure  delight  afiforded  by  education,  to 
the  cultivated  mind.  How  pleasing  it  must  be  to  the  scholar 
to  reflect  that  his  life  is  being  spent  in  ameliorating  the  con- 
dition of  man !     In  fact,  the  field  for  his  enjoyment  is  bound- 


8 

less.  He  is  at  home  in  all  companies.  By  the  history  of  the 
past,  the  actors  and  scenes  of  other  days  are  introduced  to 
his  mental  -vision,  in  all  the  reality  of  life,  and  he  is  at  once 
made  familiar  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  mighty  empires  of 
antiquity,  their  revolutions  and  their  mythologies.  For  his 
amusement  he  can  rove  over  the  flowery  fields  of  fiction  and 
romance.  With  Gallileo  and  Newton,  he  can  soar  to  more 
etherial  climes,  where,  amid  suns  and  moons  and  stars,  ex- 
plaining and  unravelling  the  mysteries  of  these  mighty  lumi- 
naries, he  can  contemplate  and  admire  the  wonderful  discov- 
eries of  sublime  astronomy.  With  Socrates,  Plato  and  others 
of  ancient  renown,  he  can  travel  over  the  whole  range  of 
philosophy  and  cull  from  the  recorded  wisdom  of  ages,  treas- 
ures of  knowledge  to  improve,  enlighten  and  gratify  the 
mind.  Amid  all  his  intellectual  enjoyments,  the  man  of  ed- 
ucation is  ever  combining  the  utile  cum,  dulce^  and  contri- 
buting as  well  to  the  improvement  as  to  the  comfort  and  hap- 
piness of  those  around  him.  We  should  rejoice  that  our  lots 
have  been  cast  in  an  age  of  progress.  Look  around  and  be- 
hold, on  every  side,  the  wonderful  triumphs  of  art  and  ge- 
nius— triumphs,  in  comparison  with  which  the  achievements 
of  other  days  dwindle  into  insignificance.  The  railway  car, 
with  its  iron  horse,  traversing  with  incredible  velocity  nearly 
every  portion  of  the  country — the  steamboats,  like  floating 
palaces,  moving  with  majesty  to  and  fro  on  our  rivers,  and 
riding  with  equal  ease  the  billows  of  the  ocean— the  electric 
telegraph,  conveying  intelligence  from  place  to  place,  with 
lightning  speed,  annihilating  distance  as  well  as  time — all  are 
the  results  of  education  combined  with  inventive  genius. 
Even  now,  railroad  enterprise,  disregarding  the  natural  bar- 
riers of  the  Eocky  mountains,  is  about  to  connect  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  oceans,  and  make  distant  California  one  of  our 
nearest  neighbors.  The  submarine  telegraph,  which  is  now 
in  the  course  of  construction,  by  its  magnetic  cable,  will  soon 
join  two  great  continents,  and  bring  Europe  and  America 
within  speaking  distance.  The  aeronaut,  in  his  restless  am- 
bition, soaring  with  the  eagle  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  aspires 
soon  to  cross  the  ocean  in  his  bird-like  car ;  and  who  knows 


9 

but  that  he  will,  at  no  distant  day,  make  his  a  usual  mode  oi 
travel  ?  Judging  by  the  past,  who  is  there  so  astute  as  to  be 
able  to  penetrate  the  veil  of  the  future,  and  comprehend, 
even  in  his  imagination,  the  gigantic  strides  which  science  is 
destined  yet  to  make.  "  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows 
before,"  and  bright  as  has  been  her  career,  still  more  brilliant 
will  be  her  future.  The  great  reservoir  of  knowledge  is  in- 
exhaustible— the  drafts  made  upon  it  reduce  not  the  supply. 

"Whilst  all  the  wondrous  improvements  of  the  present  age 
are  going  on,  shall  North-Carolina  remain  stationary  ?  Will 
her  sons  and  daughters  be  content  to  see  her  lag  behind  her 
sisters,  in  the  honorable  race  before  them  ?  Surely  they  will 
not.  The  signs  of  the  times,  we  are  gratified  to  say,  are  en- 
couraging. She  has  already  awakened  from  her  inactivity. 
A  proper  degree  of  State  pride  seems  to  be  engendered 
among  her  people.  Education  is  receiving  an  impetus,  and 
progress  and  prosperity  seem  to  be  the  order  of  the  day. 
When  we  speak  of  prosperity,  in  connection  with  the  spirit 
and  improvements  of  the  age,  we  regret  that  its  application 
is  not  universal.  We  would  that  prosperity  and  plenty  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  land,  in  every  sense.  Times  of  scarcity, 
however,  like  those  with  which  nearly  every  portion  of  our 
State  is  at  present  afflicted,  do  not  result  from  the  inactivity  of 
man.  They  come  from  the  sun  and  the  showers — from  Him 
who  holds  in  his  hand  the  destiny  of  men  and  of  nations,  and 
who  doeth  all  things  well.  His  ways  are  inscrutable,  and  we 
should  bow  with  humble  submission  to  his  all-wise  provi- 
dence. "  He  maheth  his  sun  to  rise  upon  the  evil  and  upon 
the  good^  and  sendeth  his  rain  upon  the  just  and  the  unj%istP 
Let  us  hope  for  the  future,  and  rejoice  that  the  prospects  for 
a  rich  and  early  harvest  are  so  abundant. 

]^orth- Carolina  has  ever  been  distinguished  for  the  honesty 
and  integrity  of  her  citi/iens.  These  are  rich  jewels  which 
we  should  never  forfeit.  Her  fair  fame  which  "base  dis- 
honor ne'er  yet  hath  blurred,"  is  the  property  of  her  chil- 
dren. They  inherit  it  from  her  as  a  child  inherits  from  his 
father.  How  imperative  upon  us  then,  from  every  consider- 
ation of  gratitude,  to  cling  to  her  with  patriotic  affection,  and 


10 

lend  whatever  of  talents  and  energy  we  may  possess  to  ad- 
vance her  prosperity.  In  no  way  can  we  more  effectually  do 
this  than  by  fostering  and  encouraging  education,  and  so  ap- 
plying the  arts  and  sciences  as  to  develop  the  rich  resources 
with  which  nature  has  so  bountifully  supplied  her.  This 
being  accomplished,  instead  of  emigrating  to  other  lands, 
Is^orth-Carolinians  will  be  proud  to  own  that  they  live  in  a 
State  noted  for  the  intelhgence,  prosperity  and  happiness  of 
her  people — a  State,  once  the  by-word  and  jest  of  the  nation, 
now  honored  for  her  learning,  extolled  for  her  virtues,  and 
admired  for  her  excellency  in  all  that  constitutes  true  great- 
ness and  an  enviable  name.  The  greatest  draw-back  upon 
l^orth-Carolina  has  ever  been  the  emigration  of  some  of  her 
most  talented  and  energetic  sons  to  other  States.  Such  drafts 
upon  her  resources,  if  continued,  will  ever  retard  her  pro- 
gress. If  her  productions  are  to  become  the  wealth  and 
property  of  other  States,  to  build  them  up,  she  cannot  expect 
to  advance  herself.  But  it  is  gratifying  to  believe  that  no 
such  cause  will  operate  to  any  great  extent  against  her  in  the 
future.  Her  people  have  gone  to  work  to  build  up  their  own 
State,  and  they  find  already,  that  she  possesses  all  the  ele- 
ments necessary  to  make  a  great,  noble  and  prosperous  com- 
monwealth. May  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  her  best 
friends  be  more  than  realized — may  she  go  on  prospering  and 
to  prosper. 

Whilst  our  good  old  State  has  been  at  all  times  sufficiently 
watchful  of  her  rights  and  her  honor,  she  has  ever  been  de- 
votedly attached  to  the  Union,  with  no  pulsation  of  her  heart 
but  that  beats  for  its  preservation,  for  the  rights  of  the  States 
and  the  prosperity  of  all  her  sisters.  Whilst  others  have  been 
led  off  by  the  foul  spirit  of  fanaticism,  plotting  treason 
against  the  constitution  of  their  country,  and  resistance  to 
the  supreme  courts  of  the  land,  North-Carolina,  as  true  now 
as  in  May,  1TY5,  when  she  was  the  iirst  to  declare  indepen- 
dence, wifh  her  moorings  firmly  attached  to  the  constitution, 
unmoved  from  the  path  of  duty,  regrets  their  folly  but  de- 
sphes  their  treason.  Would  that  the  constitution  of  our 
fathers,  upon  which  alone  we  can  rely  for  safety,  were  be- 


11 


yond  the  reach  of  sacrilegious  hands !  What  language  can 
sufficiently  stigmatize — what  code  can  sufficiently  punish  the 
traitor,  who  would,  by  invading  that  sacred  instrument,  de- 
stroy this  happy  government,  which  is  "  the  fairest  fabric  of 
man's  creation  " — who  would  dissever  this  Union,  cemented 
by  the  blood  of  so  many  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
consummated  by  the  patriotic  efforts  of  the  best  and  purest 
men  that  ever  lived  ?  men,  whose  names  should  not  be  men- 
tioned by  an  American  citizen,  except  with  feelings  of  the 
profoundest  reverence  and  veneration  I  Nearly  all  of  those 
great  and  good  men  have  passed  from  earth ;  but  their  deeds 
are  immortal ;  their  names  will  live  forever. 

"  These  shall  resist  the  empire  of  decay> 

When  time  is  o'er  and  worlds  have  passed  away," 

In  this  connexion,  I  should  ihol  that  I  was  doing  injustice, 
not  only  to  the  mothers  of  the  revolution,  but  to  those  of 
their  daughters  who  have  honored  us  with  their  presence  on 
this  occasion,  did  I  not  pay  a  passing  tribute  to  their  pa- 
triotism, devotion  to  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  the  ef- 
fectual services  which  they  rendered  in  those  "  times  that 
tried  men^s  souls.^'  Nothing  great  or  good  can  often  be  ac- 
com23lished  without  the  hearty  co-operation  of  woman.  Her 
smiles  and  her  cheers  never  fail  to  lend  a  charm  to  every 
cause,  and  an  interest  to  every  occasion. 

"  'Tis  woman's  smiles  that  lull  our  car6s  to  rest» 
Dear  woman's  charms,  that  ^ive  to  life  its  ^est." 

I  should  feel  that  I  had  but  poorly  performed  my  duty,  and 
had  failed  to  complete  my  task,  did  I  not^  before  concluding, 
address  a  f^w  remarks  more  directly  to  the  young  gentlemen 
connected  with  this  institution,  and  in  obedience  to  whose 
invitation  I  appear  here  on  this  occasion. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  you,  my  young  friends,  can 
now  fully  appreciate  the  privileges  you  here  enjoy,  and  the 
heavy  responsibility  resting  upon  you.  It  may  be  difficult  to 
impress  upon  you,  in  all  their  reality,  tlie  important  parts  that 


12 


each  one  of  you  will  soon  have  to  perform  in  the  great  drama 
of  life.  These  things  you  should  bear  in  mind,  and  endeavor 
to  improve  each  moment  as  it  flies.  The  time  wasted  here 
in  idleness  can  never  be  recalled,  but  is  lost  to  you  forever. 
The  errors  committed  here  can  never  be  entirely  obliterated, 
and  the  habits  formed,  whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  exert  a 
controlling  influence  on  your  future  lives.  Yours  is  the 
bloom-time  of  life,  and  the  rich  blossoms  that  shed  their 
sweet  fragrance  around  your  school-boy  days  but  foreshadow 
the  fruits  of  your  future  usefulness  and  your  future  great- 
ness ;  just  as  the  weeds,  which  are  permitted  to  spring  up 
and  overgrow  your  mental  path,  portend  troubles  and  dark- 
ness in  the  future. 

Let  me  urge  you  to  improve  the  golden  opportunity  which 
it  is  your  good  fortune  here  to  enjoy  ;  persevere  in  the  strict 
performance  of  your  duties ;  never  despair,  but  remember 
lahor  omnia  vinciL  Let  your  associations  be  pure  and  noble ; 
avoid  the  contaminating  efl'ects  of  bad  associates,  "  for  evil 
communications  corrupt  good  morals,"  and  your  character 
will  be  judged  by  the  company  you  keep.  Let  your  am- 
bition be  laudable  and  unselfish,  remembering  that  selflsh- 
ness  has  been  the  rock  on  which  many  have  foundered.  Let 
not  your  labors  be  spent  in  wild  and  visionary  pursuits,  but 
aim  at  something  substantial.  Profit  by  the  sad  experience 
of  others,  whose  defeats  and  disappointments  only  contribute 
to  your  good,  by  pointing  out  the  stumbling  blocks  which 
they  encountered,  and  serving  as  lighthouses  to  warn  you  of 
the  shoals  and  quicksands  which  lie  in  your  way.  Remem- 
ber that  you  live  in  a  country  in  which  the  road  to  eminence 
and  distinction  is  alike  open  to  all — a  country,  whose  destiny 
will  soon  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  yourselves  and  your  co- 
temporaries,  and  which  will  call  upon  all  your  patriotism  and 
wisdom  to  protect  it.  Remember  that  here,  in  the  free  land 
of  America,  those  of  the  humblest  origin  have  often  risen  to 
the  highest  position  within  the  gift  of  then*  countrymen,  there- 
by clearly  demonstrating  that, 

*'  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise,  r 

Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 


13 


Ever  and  gratefully  bear  in  mind  that  the  liberty  you  enjoy 
is  unknown  to  the  people  of  other  countries.  It  is  an  inesti- 
mable prize — one  which  reason  and  instinct  teach  all  ani- 
mated nature  to  desire — a  blessing,  the  love  of  which  inspired 
our  forefathers  when  they  so  gloriously  responded  to  the 
noble  sentiment,  "give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death !"  Read 
the  history  of  those  great  and  good  men  who  have  been  ben- 
efactors to  mankind ;  study  well  their  character ;  emulate 
their  example  ;  strive  to  make  your  end  like  theirs — 

"  To  win  the  wreath  of  fame, 

And  write  on  memory's  scroll  a  deathless  name." 

Make  the  effort,  and  if  you  fail  in  your  laudable  underta- 
king, you  fail  like  Phaeton,  who  attempted  to  direct  the  char- 
iot of  the  sun — you  nobly  fail. 

Remember  that  science  and  high  attainments  do  not  fall  to 
any  chance,  but  are  to  be  acquired  only  by  patient  industry 
and  perseverance.  l!^o  matter  how  highly  you  may  be  gifted 
by  nature  with  talent,  without  application,  it  will  avail  you 
but  little.  Nature  only  furnishes  the  capital ;  you,  yourselves, 
must  do  the  business. 

"Learning  by  study  must  be  won, 
'Twas  ne'er  entailed  from  sire  to  son." 

The  youth  of  ordinary  talents,  by  study  and  application, 
soon  surpasses  him  of  superior  genius  who  is  indolent  and 
neglects  his  duties.  Hercules  untrained,  with  all  his  natural 
powers,  is  no  match  for  the  skilful  and  well-trained  gladiator. 
You  must  not  expect  to  acquire  anything  great,  without  great 
exertion.  He  who  builds  his  hopes  upon  any  other  founda- 
tion, is  doomed  to  disappointment. 

Worship  at  the  shrine  of  wisdom,  for  "  her  ways  are  ways 
of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace."  But  whilst 
learning  and  science  are  so  greatly  to  be  desired,  do  not  rest 
satisfied  with  their  acquisition  alone ;  for  with  all  the  learning 
which  you  may  acquire,  your  education  will  not  be  properly 
completed  until  jour  heart  shall  be  thoroughly  imbued  with 


u 

the  principles  of  virture  and  honor.  Let  these  be  your  guides 
through  hfe.  They  alone  will  point  the  way  to  happiness  and 
success.  It  is  from  the  impulses  of  the  heart  that  the  mind  acts. 
Hence,  the  importance  of  its  proper  training.  Cultivate,  my 
young  friends,  a  cheerful  and  happy  disposition.  Be  gen- 
erous and  kind,  polite  and  courteous  in  your  intercourse  with 
others.  Let  candor,  truth  and  honesty  ever  be  uppermost  in 
your  thoughts ;  for  all  your  acquirements  will  avail  you  no- 
thing without  an  honorable  name. 

"  The  purest  treasure  mortal  times  afford, 

Is  spotless  reputation;  that  away, 

Men  are  but  gilded  loam  or  painted  clay." 

IVtay  your  conduct  be  such,  and  your  time  so  spent  here, 
as  to  prepare  you  to  buifet  with  success  the  rude  waves  on 
the  ocean  of  life,  and  to  meet,  with  becoming  fortitude,  the 
clouds  of  adversity,  which  none  of  us  can  expect  at  aJl  times 
to  escape.  From  the  time  the  serpent  entered  the  garden  of 
Eden,  no  man  has  been  entirely  free  from  sorrow  and  disap- 
pointment; therefore,  you  cannot  expect  yours  to  be  a  life  of 
continued  sunshine.  I  would  not  willingly  or  unnecessarily 
mar  a  single  happy  anticipation  that  you  may  indulge.  I  wish 
only  to  prepare  you  to  meet  the  realities  of  life.  Many  of  you, 
no  doubt,  regard  your  time  spent  here  as  dull  and  heavy ;  have 
longed  for  your  school  to  close,  and  rejoice  to-day,  that  your 
session  is  ended.  This  is  the  natural  inclination  and  impulse 
of  your  young  hearts.  All  experience  teaches,  however, 
that  your  schoolboy  days  are  the  happiest  Iiours  of  your  life. 
Under  the  delusive  influence  of  youtlitul  liupe,  in  your  vivid 
imagination,  you  may  paint  on  the  pathway  of  life  a  lovely 
landscape ;  but  when  the  time  for  its  realization  comes,  you 
will  And  that  distance  only  has  lent  enchantment  to  the 
scene,  and  that  all  the  cares,  troubles  and  perplexities  of  life 
everywhere  beset  you.  Do  not  understand  me  by  this,  as  in- 
tending to  discourage  you  in  the  least.  Far  be  it  from  my 
intention  to  do  so.  My  object  is  rather  to  stimulate  you  and 
to  encourage  you  to  hope  for  the  attainment  of  that  success 
which  alone  is  sure,  and  which  is  the  reward  of  merit.     It  is 


15 

your  business  here  to  prepare  to  meet  those  difficulties  on 
life's  journey ;  and  you  will  realize  that  bright  picture  which 
you  have  drawn  here,  just  in  proportion  as  you  do  your  duty 
here. 

But  very  few  young  men,  while  at  school,  entertain  that 
high  respect  and  esteem  for  their  teachers,  which  is  justly 
due  them,  and  with  which  riper  years  are  sure  to  inspire  us. 
!N"o  man  is  more  entitled  to  our  kind  remembrance  and  affec- 
tion than  he  who  is  the  guardian  of  our  minds  and  our  hearts. 
They  are  entrusted  to  him  for  improvement,  and  for  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  manages  our  mental  and  moral  estates,  he 
will  be  held  to  a  strict  accountability.  His  is  a  high  calling  ; 
he  is  engaged  in  a  noble  cause.  What  heavy  responsibilities 
are  resting  upon  him  !  What  more  honorable  profession  than 
his !  The  very  fate  of  our  country  is  in  his  hands ;  for  he 
trains  and  instructs  the  youth,  who  will  have  to  manage  its 
affairs,  and  who  will  shape  its  destiny.  "  If  we  work  upon 
marble,  it  will  perish ;  if  we  work  upon  brass,  time  will  efface 
it.  If  we  rear  temples,  they  will  crumble  into  dust.  But  if 
we  work  upon  immortal  minds  and  imbue  them  with  high 
and  heavenly  principles,  we  engrave  on  these  tables  some- 
thing which  no  time  can  efface,  and  which  will  brighten  to 
all  eternity." 

Many  of  the  most  distinguished  authors  and  statesmen, 
that  have  adorned  and  enlightened  the  world  by  their  labors, 
commenced  life  as  teachers — thereby  showing  that  the  hum- 
ble schoolhouses,  however  unpretending  in  appearance,  have 
often  been  presided  over  by  men  of  genius,  and  proven  their 
stepping  stone  to  honor  and  renown.  Let  no  young  teacher 
be  dissatisfied  with  his  calling,  or  despair  of  ultimate  success. 
May  the  highest  hopes  of  him  who  has  so  auspiciously  com- 
menced his  professional  labors  here,  be  more  than  realized. 
The  exercises  of  this  occasion  have  proven  that  he  has  done 
his  whole  duty.  Born  and  raised  here  in  your  midst,  you  all 
know  how  to  appreciate  his  talents  and  his  virtues.  We  can 
only  say,  "  well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 


